THE GOAN NETWORK
PANAJI
Try calling up telephone numbers at two government offices and be prepared to find the landlines not in operation.
This is the situation at the Department of Municipal Administration (DMA) at Patto Plaza, Panaji, and the forest department at Junta House in Panaji.
After receiving complaints from consumers that many numbers of the DMA were not working and they would receive the automated message "this number does not exist", the consumer activist group GOACAN did a fact-finding exercise.
GOACAN contacted the BSNL head office to check if there was a technical problem or if it was a matter of unpaid bills.
“It was not surprising to know that all 3 numbers were inactive due to pending dues for the telephones 2438708 (Rs 1,098.11), 2438640 (Rs 752) and 2438590 (Rs 727),” said Roland Martins of GOACAN.
GOACAN then communicated to DMA officials about the importance of keeping communication lines open and working for consumers as part of good governance.
Meanwhile, two official numbers of the forest department at Junta House also had the automated message "this number does not exist", when attempts were made to dial those numbers.
Enquiries by GOACAN revealed that the two telephones were inactive due to pending dues for the telephones 2229701 (Rs 2,093) and 2422864 (Rs 2,673).
In the last two years of the Covid pandemic, GOACAN has undertaken an exercise to get office landlines of government departments reactivated by getting the pending dues paid by the departments concerned.
“After payment is made for a disconnected landline, the department concerned has to submit an application for reconnection of the landline to the Commercial Officer (Central) at 18th June Road, Panaji. Only then will the BSNL landlines be activated,” said Martins.
As part of its ongoing 60-day Awareness Drive, GOACAN has been addressing various issues affecting the common consumer.
